Five Tips to Help Beat Holiday Stress “So far this year, three quarters of U.S. adults report moderate to high levels of stress, according to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association. As you multitask your way through the season, here are 5 tips to help you cope with holiday stress.” [Consumer Reports Health]

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I avoid stress by not going to any physical stores to do my shopping. It’s not that I hate the mall – I mean, the parking is a nightmare – but you generally get better deals online. Instead of going to the mall, noting the prices, or comparison shopping with online sites, I just buy everything online. Sure, one or two things may be cheaper at the store, but I’m betting I’m saving more overall by shopping entirely online.

This way, the only thing I have to do is track packages, which has its own share of stress. I ordered something nearly a week ago, and it still hasn’t shipped. I’ve been told that today is the day – but I’m not holding my breath. I might have to rain down the EECB if my packages don’t ship soon because then they won’t get here before I need them.

I wasn’t stressed until I had to pick up a few non-gift type things at some stores. The various sales people I encountered were not just surly but blatantly and outgoingly rude and all I wanted was to just give them cash and leave quietly. I understand they are probably sick of working the holiday insanity but I try to be extra nice and not expect much out of store staff this time of year. It makes me wonder what kind of crap these people are having to put up with that they are that crabby to everyone.

I have only paid for shipping for one of my packages. Everything else was free. I thought I was fine by ordering super early, but I’m waiting for two packages that might get here in the nick of time. Grrr.

Yeah, I ordered over Thanksgiving, but I looked at the ship date, then the 5-9 days for free supersaver, and while Amazon’s usually pretty quick, the last date within the calculated range would have been Dec. 16 and I knew I’d be driving myself nuts by then … even though chances are it would have shipped long before then. But what if there were a delay? So I paid the $7 to get 5 presents mailed regular speed.

1) Don’t fall prey to the MUST-HAVE toys or things this year. Buy things that are squeaky-brand-new so you can get reliable reviews and don’t have to fight the crowds
2) Shop Online
3) Realize that materialism is a bad idea and make home-made gifts instead, its fun, will be greatly appreciated and helps relieve stress. Can you say cookies?

This year, we decided that the Holiday Season would be the perfect time to remodel the 2nd story of our home. Ironically, and perhaps because of this, the rest of the holiday trappings are causing only minimal stress. Our shopping is done, but we’re feeling spacially insecure and physically exhausted.

This sort of article is a total fluff piece, like the annual summertime articles instructing you to stay in an air-conditioned place and drink lots of water so you don’t get heat stroke. In particular, “make a list” and “keep an eye on your spending” aren’t exactly groundbreaking suggestions.